Amazing picture of a smiling Weddell seal enjoying the sun in Antarctica, taken from aboard a vessel during my Antarctica tour. Weddell seals are appealing because of their smiling faces. You can easily approach them when you find them sun bathing in large groups on fast packs of Antarctic ice. They only emerge through cracks and blowholes in the Antarctic ice to breathe, rest, and have their pups.

To see Weddell seals in Antarctica you need to book your vacation on Antarctica ships that sail the closest to the South Pole. Weddell seals live in the waters of McMurdo Sound about 800 miles away from the South Pole and are only seals to represent the Antarctica wildlife so far south.

Book your cruise to Antarctica the earliest possible in October when you want to admire Weddell seal pups that are born in the seal colonies in September and October. Antarctica
Weddell seal pups weigh up top 60 pounds (30kg) at birth. After a nursing period of 6 to 8 weeks, the pups will have gained an extra 200 pounds or 100 kg and will be able to swim, hunt, and to haul themselves out of the water.

Arctic Weddell seals are named after the British Antarctic explorer James Weddell, who commanded British Antarctic expeditions into what is now called the Weddell Sea (which is also named for him). Weddell seals live farther south than any other mammal and can only be seen when you book an Antarctica cruise on an arctic cruise icebreaker that sails all the way south.